Outlook on different user accounts
 

I have a problem. I have set up a new user account on my computer, for work so I can keep those files with higher security and more accessible away from my personnal files. However I want all my outloook to be identical between the two accounts, and it insists on opening a fresh instance with none of my emails, contacts or accounts.

Is there any way I can open the same instance of Outlook in a second account?

I am not 100% sure how or if you can do that, pretty sure there must be a way.

However, i did it this way...

I saved the email account to an outlook account file (or whatever they are called)

and then imported it onto the second account.

Outlook account file is a registry file looking thing....

Maybe of not help/use

I think that the problem is that Outlook saves its settings in a subfolder in the C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\ folder. Because of this, logging in under a different username means that Outlook cannot find that data. You could try moving the data folders to a location accessible from both accounts, but I'm not sure of how to accomplish this with OE. In the Office Outlook version there is an option under the 'File' menu to arrange this.

Not sure there is a way to have 2 accounts using the same data files, the way I keep several e-mail accounts on several computers in sync is to leave messages on the isp server and only delete messages from the server when they are in the delete folder of Outlook. thus from which ever account reads the e-mails it always gets all e-mails that havent been deleted. Contacts and addresses can be imported from the original account and then should keep up to date when new e-mails come in. (not forgeting that they have to be exported from the original account initially)

I think the default setting is deleting e-mails from the isp server when they are read and there is a tick box somewhere in tools options ( or accounts) that allows the above to work.

Good luck

Rickity

Try to 'copy and replace' the .pst file in your other Outlook instance when you want to update? A bit laborious but should do the trick. You will either need admin access to the other account or you could change the store file to a common location (which will defeat the 'security':ugh:) so it can be accessed. Jhieminga's method is pretty well the same. The store folder is accessed via a rt click on 'Outlook Today'/Properties/Advanced.

User settings no problem, as the account I want to over-ride the settings on is the administrator (no point in being secure if the admin is insecure!). Can't find anything on Outlook to do this, though. Any more specific ideas Jhieminga?

Not really. I don't have an installation available to test my theory so I can't help you any further. I did a Google search on 'Outlook data file' which turned up some interesting reading, this page for example: http://www.slipstick.com/config/defaultpst.htm

First try to set the Outlook data file for one user account to a location accessible to both (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/ou...124801033.aspx). Then go to the second user account and point Outlook to the same location (see above). That's my theory but you'll have to test it yourself to see if it's correct. Please make backups of everything first to avoid disaster!

Using the same outook file from 2 accounts
 

Assuming you are using outlook in standalone mode, ie not connected to an exchange server, then all your data will be in a .pst file. This is normally located in C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Where Administrator is the appropriate user.

Again, assuming that you don't want to use both accounts simulataneously, then there are 2 options.

1) in the "new" user locate and delete (or rename) the .pst file (which presumably is empty) When outlook starts you will get a message box complaining there is no .pst file, and asking you to chosse another. Navigate to the "old" .pst file, select that, and that's it.

2) in the "new" user start outlook, then select file/data file management and add/remove .pst files accordingly.

Checked with outlook 2003

This would fairly easy to do if you would consider ditching Outlook and getting Mozilla Thunderbird instead. With Thunderbird you can have your mailbox kept anywhere and set any account to use that box.